About the Scranton Club

The Scranton Club founded in 1895, located on the corner of North Washington Avenue and Mulberry Street, is one of the oldest social clubs in the area and certainly one of the most prestigious. Club members included a lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, a postmaster general of the United States and a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. And even Though the years have been witness to a few structural changes, the club has been housed in the same building in the same downtown location for all of its 118 years.

Following the Depression, the club started a membership drive for younger members. Soon after, the United States entered World War II, and many of those new members were called to service.

During the war, the club’s management started sending a bulletin to members all over the world. The club announced, in the bulletin, a contest to award a $50 war bond to the club members that were the first to reach Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. Peter Keating, who was incidentally the first to reach Paris, remembered that on another occasion Ronald Reagan, prior to becoming president, attended a Republican rally for Barry Goldwater at the club.

While the club’s bylaws said it was “for social enjoyment,” there was a time when it could be said that most local business or governmental decisions were born at The Scranton Club.